Keep You Much Longer: An Outsider's Perspective
by Jubilation Bells
Summary: Ash and Misty parted ways at the end of their journey through Johto. They promised to see each other again, and although difficult, kept their promise. Their bittersweet reunions affect them in ways they don't quite understand. But their friends around them do. AAML post Johto from unexpected outside perspectives. Pokeshipping Three Shot. Song Credit: Akon - Keep You Much Longer
1. May

**Completed**

Set during random events in Hoenn. May's perspective of Ash and Misty.

_Some events in this chapter are out of order for creative reasons. I apologize if this upsets anyone. I own nothing._

* * *

It was right after they left the Mirage Kingdom the first time May noticed. Something about Ash had been off. He was not being his normal bubbly and energetic self. Right now, he just seemed down. It was almost as if he had just lost an important battle, except he hadn't battled anyone recently.

After they left the kingdom, he barely said anything the rest of the day. As they were walking to their next destination, it seemed like he was always one step behind the rest of them instead of anxious and eager in the front. If anyone spoke to him, he responded in a way that indicated that he wasn't listening. He had a distant and sad look on his face instead of the cheerful smile he normally wore. That night at dinner, he barely touched any of his food, rather than devouring second or third helpings like he usually did. Then he went to bed early, before anyone else. The weirdest part was that Pikachu seemed to be trying to cheer him up, but looked like he felt the same way.

May was concerned. But unfortunately, neither Brock or Max seemed to notice.

"He's probably just tired," Max suggested, "in case you forgot, the past few days have been pretty crazy."

"You know Ash," Brock laughed, "he's always wearing his emotions on his sleeve."

"Yeah, but," May tried to counter.

"He'll be fine," Brock offered implying maybe he knew more than he was letting on, "just let him rest."

May wasn't so sure. But fortunately, he got progressively better as the days went on and a few days later, he seemed to be back to his old self again. While May was relieved that he was ok, she couldn't help but still wonder what brought on that strange behavior. She didn't want to ask him, so decided to drop the subject for now. Especially since no one else seemed concerned. But she didn't forget.

* * *

It was a few weeks later when Ash said something that stood out in May's mind. Not because what he said was out of the ordinary, but because it contradicted what she knew about him.

They were completely lost and she could only blame Max for the incident. Max, on the other hand, could only blame her. As they continued to argue about whose fault it was, Brock pointed out that he and Ash get lost all the time, but don't fight about it.

"That's right," Ash chimed in, "when we were traveling around with Misty we probably set the record for getting lost. But we'd always wind up getting where we wanted to be in the end."

She looked over at him and he had a big smile on his face and Pikachu happily agreed. Something she found interesting because the Ash that she knew was _not _alway so calm, cool, and collected when their group found themselves lost like this. Although, she would agree that he was not exactly a pro with directions. That and he did have a tendency to forget things. Often. This was all out of character if nothing else.

But at this time, May was too upset with Max to even listen to them.

* * *

It was when they met Jimmy that May was officially on to something. Down on his luck Jimmy was explaining to the group all about his journey as a trainer. All four of them were intrigued by his stories about how he caught, or rather obtained, his three Pokemon. Then he got to the part about how he was never able to win a gym badge, or even a Pokemon battle, and then proceeded to show them a badge. A Cerulean City Cascade Badge, as Brock helpfully pointed out since May and Max had never seen one before.

"That's Misty's gym," Ash followed, "You must be a great trainer if you got one of those."

As he said this, May noticed the tone of his voice was different than it had been for the rest of this conversation up until this point. Almost as if it had dropped slightly even though he still sounded completely confident in what he was saying. But it was the look on his face that really stood out. This was the look that May had seen once before. That distant, down, and quiet look that she never could figure out after Mirage Kingdom. This time, however, it only lasted until the end of Jimmy's story, until they were interrupted by Team Rocket. Then it went away, but May's suspicions did not. Those two instances had something in common...

* * *

It was the second time that she met Misty that May decided to put her new theory to the test. Lucky for her, she didn't have to look very hard for signs, if at all. Misty even gave her a head start by showing up at Ash's house early by herself just so she could be there as soon as he got home from Hoenn.

Between the two of them, May could barely even keep up with the compliments, the winking, the petty arguing, the flirting, the one-upping, and the goofy exchanges they would give each other. Not to mention how almost all of Ash's pokemon obeyed her as if she was their own trainer; especially Pikachu, who May was sure had never been that excited to see her before. This made her surprised that she didn't notice anything the first time she and Misty met.

After that brief trip to Ash's house before hitting the road, May was proud of herself for confirming her suspicions.

* * *

It was after they parted ways at the foot of Mt. Moon when May noticed it again. The subtle separation from the rest of the group, the silence, the distant and sad look, the demeanor resembling a recent loss of a battle that never took place, the untouched dinner, and the unusually early bed time. Even though she was still concerned for him, she didn't wonder what was wrong this time. This time, she knew.

After Ash had gone to bed, Brock had been talking to Max about something for a little while. May sat by herself against a tree with her new Squirtle thinking about how she could help him. She barely even noticed when Max came and sat beside her.

"Hey, May, what's on your mind?" Her little brother asked innocently.

"Oh, I was just thinking about something," She vaguely told him.

"Care to tell me what it is?"

The truth was she did care. She was hesitant to share her theory with him, especially since no one noticed anything unusual last time. But that was a long time ago. Maybe things were more obvious this time. So she whispered to him with as little detail as she could, "I think Ash likes Misty."

"Well, yeah," Max responded with all of the innocence of a seven-year-old, "Misty's really awesome. You should have seen the way she knew exactly what Pokemon attacks to use to help us find our way back to you guys. And the way she handled that wild Cleffa. It's no wonder she's a gym leader, I wish I could see her battle someone for a badge some time."

May smiled at her younger brother's response. It was cute that he admired her so much. So with that, she decided to let him in on her theory a little more.

"Yeah, she is pretty cool, but that isn't what I mean," May told him, "I think he _likes _her."

Max looked at her confused.

"I think that's why he's been so quiet since we left Mt. Moon. I think he likes her and now he misses her after seeing her again. He was like that after the Mirage Kingdom too."

"Huh," Max responded, "So Misty must have been who he was talking about that one time."

"What time? When? What did he say?" She asked excitedly surprised to be proven right by her toughest critic.

"When I was upset about Jirachi leaving at the end of the Millennium Comet, Ash told me that best friends sometimes have to leave each other, but they're always still best friends. Just like him and one of his friends."

"And he told you it was Misty?" May exclaimed.

"He didn't say who it was. He told me that he had a friend who needed to leave him and he misses her every day but they'll still always be best friends. He might have seemed a little sad when he said the part about her leaving, but he and Pikachu were happy about the part about them staying friends forever. It helped to know that Jirachi and I would never forget about each other either."

"Every day," May repeated.

That's when Brock walked up.

"Brock," May asked tentatively, "What's the deal with Ash and Misty?" Hoping the older boy that had known them both for a while would be able to weigh in.

Brock smiled to himself before responding. "Misty is the first traveling companion that Ash ever had after Pikachu. She taught him a lot, not only about Pokemon, but about himself too. He had a similar effect on her. They really grew from one another. The two of them still have some growing up to do, but I think deep down they know exactly how they feel about each other. When they're older and they stop being so stubborn, they'll understand."

"So do you think that's why Ash seems so sad tonight?" May asked.

"I have a feeling that Misty probably looks just like he does right now," Brock replied, "if not worse."

The next morning May noticed Ash still looking a little down and still keeping to himself. That's when she decided to talk to him about it. She approached him as he was sitting with Pikachu by a lake while Brock was making lunch.

She took a deep breath, placed her hand on his shoulder, and finally asked him, "You really miss her, don't you?"

"Uh," Ash tried to deny it.

"Misty," May clarified before he could say anything, "You seem to miss her a lot."

Ash looked at her unable to come up with a response.

"It's ok," she continued, "you can talk to me about it if you want. I get it."

There was a long pause before he finally responded, "Saying goodbye is never easy," and that's when he finally mustered up a smile and his upbeat tone started to return, "but I know it's not goodbye, it's just 'see you later' and we'll always be best friends and we'll see each other whenever we can." Pikachu happily agreed.

And with that, Ash stood back up ready to continue on his journey to earn his first Battle Frontier symbol with a new attitude.

"Hey May," he turned around, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied. Maybe Brock was right; he knows, but he just doesn't get it yet.

* * *

It was when Professor Oak showed up after Ash's unsuccessful battle against Brandon that May finally saw a different side to Ash when it came to Misty. While both she and Ash were struggling with their confidence after their recent defeats, she was happy for Ash that he was able to restore some of his spirit after Professor Oak gave him a series of gifts. There was food from his mother, a banner from his Pokemon, and a postcard from his former rival, Gary.

The thing that really seemed to put the smile back on Ash's face, however, was the fishing lure he received from Misty that looked just like her. 'The Misty Special,' Brock called it. It was something that Ash recognized immediately.

"Look, Pikachu," He exclaimed, as he excitedly showed it off, "Misty's lure!" Pikachu clamored in delight at the sight of it.

This was when May knew that Ash, and maybe even Misty, too, had come to terms with their current situation. He was no longer sad about them being away from each other, but happy to have her support in achieving his goals. Just like he always did.

May would never know if it was the conversation she had with him back then that made him feel better or if this was something he figured out on his own. That part didn't matter. What she did know was that she was glad that he was finally figuring out how to deal with it. Maybe one day he would even admit how he felt, too.

* * *

_Playing as my agent, for you there's no replacement. You will always be my girl, you can hold me on that statement._


	2. Tracey

Set during Chronicles &amp; Hoenn. Tracey's perspective of Ash and Misty.

* * *

Tracey loved his job as Professor Oak's lab assistant. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. He was able to learn more about Pokemon than he ever thought he could, and he was learning from the best. Tracey had landed his dream job. He looked forward to going to work every day. There was only one thing that he did not look forward to and that was his days off.

Pallet was a tiny town. Outside of Professor Oak's lab, there wasn't much else to do. Not being from The Kanto Region himself, he didn't know very many people, and most kids his age were out on their own Pokemon journeys. He found himself very bored when he wasn't working. Which is why he was excited when he found out that his friend, Misty, had moved back home to Cerulean City to take over as gym leader, which was only a short drive from Pallet Town.

* * *

It was the first time Tracey visited Misty at the gym after she got home from The Johto Region that he noticed. Misty had always had a fiery personality and a hot temper. But right now, she had a distant and sad look on her face and just seemed down.

Tracey had heard from Professor Oak that Misty had passed her PIA inspection with flying colors and that so far she was doing great as a gym leader. He expected her to want to tell him all about her recent accomplishments, or show him the Gyarados that she just caught, but instead, she barely wanted to talk at all. The only thing she did want to talk about was how weird it was to no longer to be traveling around (so far she didn't seem to love staying in one place) and how much work it was taking care of a gym all on her own.

When Tracey left, Misty apologized for not being in a good mood. She credited it to being tired and stressed out. But Tracey, who had seen her in both situations several times before, was not so sure that was really the problem. He was concerned.

When Tracey returned to Pallet Town, he told Professor Oak about Misty's strange behavior. But Professor Oak did not seem worried. "Being a gym leader is no easy task," the older man explained, "Having the new responsibility of looking after a gym while caring for all of those Pokemon can be very overwhelming, especially for such a young trainer. I'm sure Misty just needs a little time to adjust to her role."

Mrs. Ketchum, however, had a different opinion. "That Misty," she laughed, "she always did wear her emotions right on her sleeve."

While Tracey certainly knew that to be true about her, he wasn't so sure what this emotion was.

* * *

It was when Tracey met Sakura that something caught his attention. Misty's friend, Sakura, from Johto had arrived at the gym to challenge Misty for a Cascade Badge. When Misty introduced him to her, her first assumption was that the two of them were dating. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Misty," Sakura said after the introduction.

It was Misty's response, or lack thereof, that stood out to him.

"Oh, it's not like that," Misty calmly replied, "you see, Tracey was with Ash and me when we were in The Orange Islands. He's been assisting Professor Oak the last few years."

It wasn't what she said that was out of the ordinary, quite the opposition. It was how she said it. Throughout the time Tracey was traveling with Misty, any time anyone accused her of having a boyfriend, she would blush and get irrationally angry or upset while vehemently denying it. But this time, she was able to simply correct the mistake and explain the situation. If nothing else, it was out of character from what he had seen from her before.

* * *

It was a few weeks later when Tracey met Casey that he started to catch on. Misty's loud, spirited friend from Johto stopped by the gym for a visit while looking for tickets to that night's baseball game. To cut short Casey's shrill rendition of the Electabuzz fight song, Misty introduced her to Tracey.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Casey not so subtly whispered after the introduction.

"Why is it everyone I introduce him to always jumps to that conclusion?" Misty groaned.

Once again, when asked if she had a boyfriend, Misty did not yell, argue, or blush like Tracey had seen her do so many times before. While it was clear she was getting irritated, she still managed to remain calm while simply answering the question before the subject was dropped.

That's when Tracey realized, maybe it wasn't the idea of having a boyfriend that would set her off before, but rather _who_ people were assuming her boyfriend was.

Later that day, a letter from a boy named Georgio arrived asking Misty to meet him. When Misty got back from the meeting, Tracey and her sister, Daisy, of course had questions. They were shocked to hear that he was trying to ask her out on a date.

"He's very nice," Misty said describing Georgio, "but I've just got too much work to do at the gym." Misty had a strange look on her face when she said this. A sad, distant look that Tracey had seen once before, which indicated that this was not the real reason why she didn't want to go out with Georgio.

When Casey returned to the gym later to tell Misty all about _her_ date with Georgio. Tracey of course noticed that Casey's version of events was different from Misty's.

"Georgio wanted to take Misty out on a date!" Casey exclaimed, "He even got tickets to the Electabuzz game! But Misty didn't want to go! Not with him, not with anyone else! That's what she said! So they battled for it! But then Team Rocket showed up and tried to steal his Delcatty, so we fought them and we beat them! Then they finished their battle! Misty won, so she didn't have to go out with him! Then I battled him for the extra ticket! I didn't win, but he took me to the game anyway since Meganium and I helped get rid of Team Rocket! It was so much fun! And I have Misty to thank for it!"

That was when Misty (conveniently) had to excuse herself to greet a challenger in the lobby.

"So Casey," Tracey couldn't help but ask, "Why do you think Misty didn't want to go out with Georgio?"

"Beats me," Casey told him, "Georgio thinks Misty likes someone else. She got all weird and mad and started blushing when he asked her about it. You know?"

Tracey knew _exactly _the reaction she was talking about. He had seen it many times before. And he had a pretty good idea of who that someone else might be.

* * *

It was when Misty returned from the Togepi Festival in The Hoenn Region that Tracey noticed it again. As a gym leader, she was often invited to trainer events like this. Rarely did she attend them unless they were close by or convenient for her. This one was neither, but Misty decided she was going as soon as she read the invitation. Tracey suspected that the festival was not the only reason why she so interested in going to Hoenn.

She returned without Togepi and with the same unexplainably down, sad demeanor that she had when she first returned from Johto. Still concerned for his friend, this time, Tracey felt like he had an idea of what was going on with her, but the departure of Togepi in the process threw him for a loop.

"How was the Togepi Festival?" he asked in attempt to get to the bottom of her strange mood.

"It wasn't a real festival," she responded glumly, "just a scam set up by some royal loser to steal a Togepi so he could be king."

"Did he steal your Togepi?"

"No, it evolved into Togetic and wanted to stay there and protect the Togepi paradise. I had no choice but to leave it," she said almost in tears.

"I have something that might make you feel better," Tracey told her hopefully, "my Marill laid an egg a little while ago. It's going to hatch pretty soon. I know how much you love water Pokemon, so would you like to keep it?"

"Sure!" Misty said excitedly.

Togepi might have been the reason reason why she was so upset right now, but that wouldn't explain the last time he saw her like this. It was nice to see her smile again, but Tracey had one more question for her to test his original theory.

"So how is Ash?" he asked with a smirk. Misty's eyes grew wide and he could tell she was about to get defensive, just like how she used to. "...and Brock?" he then threw in. And then her reaction changed back to how it was.

"They're good," she said quietly.

And with that, Tracey knew there was more to it than just Togepi.

* * *

It was when Ash returned from Hoenn that Tracey really put his observation skills to the test. Not that he would have had to look very hard, but Misty made it especially easy.

The day after the Ever Grande Conference ended, Misty found herself in Pallet Town. She showed up at the lab with her newly hatched Azurill in tow claiming that she was there to show it to Professor Oak. It was no coincidence that Ash returned home early that evening and Misty was already at his house when he got there..

When Tracey first met Ash and Misty, he always had a suspicion that there was more going on than either of them was willing to admit at the time. Even when he wasn't looking for it, there were many things he noticed but never read into. Now that he was looking, he was kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. From the winking, the wayward compliments, the one-upping each other, the arguments that seemed all the more ridiculous now, and the excitement they both expressed for getting to travel together again even if it was only for a little while, the two of them could not be more obvious.

When Ash and his friends left the next morning, Tracey was proud of himself for confirming his suspicions from all that time ago.

* * *

It was when Misty got back to Cerulean City that Tracey noticed one more time. The silence, the anger, and the distant, sad look on her face. He was still concerned, but he didn't wonder what was wrong this time. This time, he knew.

He approached her carefully knowing that this was a sensitive topic. "You really miss him, don't you?" Tracey finally asked her.

"Uh," Misty said as she scrambled for words.

"Ash," Tracey clarified, "you seem to miss him a lot when he's not here."

Misty still didn't say anything, and Tracey was relieved that she didn't immediately blow up at him like he somewhat expected her to.

"Misty," Tracey began, "I've seen you two together. I get it. And I have a feeling that he's probably feeling the same way you do right now, if not worse. You know you can talk to me about it if you want."

After a long pause, Misty finally spoke. "It's never easy to say goodbye," she said quietly, "but I suppose there's always a time when people have to go their separate ways."

"If you don't mind me asking," Tracey said, "Your sisters are back home now, couldn't one of them reclaim the role of gym leader? That way you can go back out and travel again."

"It's not that easy," Misty sighed, "Since I took over as gym leader, the PIA has been so happy with the changes I've made. Before, the Cascade Badge was a joke. My sisters were handing them out to anyone. Ash told me he met someone who got one for cleaning the pool! I don't think any of them _want_ to be gym leader again. On my way back here, Daisy called twice asking if she could just give badges away. Trainers are finally starting to respect this badge."

"Ok, maybe this is the best thing for the gym, but what about what _you_ want?" Tracey inquired.

Misty thought about it for a minute. "I don't think it would be that easy to give it up. All my life, I've always wanted to be the greatest water Pokemon trainer there is. That's why I left Cerulean City in the first place. I was able to experience great things that helped me achieve my goal and catch a lot of water Pokemon that I would never have seen here. But now being back here, I've realized that if I want to be the world's greatest water Pokemon trainer, getting the experience that I am as a water type gym leader, constantly surrounded by water Pokemon, battling and improving water-type skills, is invaluable."

"So you want to stay here as gym leader?"

For the first time that day, Misty smiled. "I left home to become a great water Pokemon trainer. Ash left home to become a Pokemon master. That was how our paths crossed, we were both out to achieve our dreams."

"And that's what you're still doing," Tracey cut in.

Misty's tone was becoming more positive as she continued. "Our goals brought us to different places right now. But I know that our paths will cross again. Until then, we'll keep seeing each other whenever we can. And we'll always be friends."

With that, Tracey remembered something that Misty once said describing someone else, 'They're not mature enough to admit it, but they really like each other.' It sounded like his friends were finally starting to get there.

* * *

It was when Tracey told Misty about Ash's recent difficulty in the Battle Frontier that he finally saw a different side to Misty when it came to Ash. Misty had been doing a great job in her recent battles. She sympathized with Ash, knowing that defeat was not something he handled well. But she didn't seem upset.

After Tracey told her about the banner he had made him with his Pokemon's signatures to help lift his spirits, Misty decided to give him something too. She pulled out one of her favorite fishing lures and gave it to Tracey to give to Professor Oak to give to Ash. She said this particular lure had always been her good luck charm and she felt that Ash should have it. She knew he would remember it from the time she won the Seaking catching competition.

This was when Tracey knew that Misty, and maybe Ash, too, had finally come to terms with their situation. She was no longer sad about being away from him or angry about being stuck in the same place, but happy to support him in achieving his goals. Just like he always did for her, too.

Tracey always knew that Misty and Ash weren't the typical "best friends," they were something else. While he knew that one day they would figure that out on their own, he would never know if the conversation he had with Misty helped her to do that. Either way, he was glad that Misty was finally figuring out how to deal with it. Maybe one day, she wouldn't be afraid to admit her feelings out loud, either.

* * *

_That's why I'm concerned. But now it's confirmed, that you spread your wings and learned to fly all alone._


	3. Dawn

Set during Sinnoh, Dawn's perspective of Ash and Misty

* * *

It was when they were fishing for Buizels that Dawn noticed. After hearing rumors of an powerful wild Buizel, Ash was intent on catching it. His overconfidence in his abilities, however, was about the only in-character thing that occurred that day.

"Man, I am not getting any bites," Ash groaned as he pulled out the strangest fishing lure Dawn had ever seen. It was a shaped like a winking, red-haired girl wearing a yellow shirt, red suspenders, and jean shorts holding up her right index finger. Definitely not one the lures that were provided when they rented the fishing rods.

"I've never seen a lure like that," Dawn commented.

"This?" Ash asked as he held it up for her to see, "Cool, huh? I got this from Misty a long time ago," he told her proudly.

"Misty?" Dawn asked. This wasn't someone that she had met before, and she couldn't remember hearing about her before either.

"Right," Brock confirmed, "she's a friend of ours who is now the Cerulean City gym leader."

"Oh," Dawn replied. She was still a little confused, but that answer checked out. Ash and Brock had been traveling for a long time and met a lot of people along the way. "Let me give that thing a try," she asked as she held out her hand.

That's when things got weird. "No way, Dawn!" Ash snapped at her.

"Come on, Ash," Dawn said as she reached for his fishing pole, "why not?"

"Because I said so, ok!" He shouted. Now they were both tugging on it trying to pull it away from each other. Ash and Dawn had certainly had their share of arguments and usually one of them was clearly at fault. But this was something completely different. Dawn had no idea why Ash was getting so angry at her. She probably would have let it go had he not overreacted so much, but now she was curious about why he was being so territorial over a lure.

"Just as noisy as ever, I see," Zoey laughed as she walked up. With that, the argument was quickly dropped.

After telling Zoey all about this strong Buizel they heard about, Dawn's lure got a bite. The rumors were true, this Buizel sure was powerful. After it knocked out Piplup, Glameow, and Pikachu effortlessly, it stole all of their fishing poles before leaving the scene. This was when Dawn noticed that Ash angrily began to panic, and it didn't seem like it was because of the Buizel.

As they tried to hunt the Buizel down again, they found a whole stash of fishing rods hidden in a small alcove downstream. Apparently, it made a habit of stealing fishing poles from the unsuccessful trainers that tried to catch it.

"Wow, at least my lure is still in one piece," Ash said excitedly as Dawn noticed a look of relief wash over him. Then, she saw him hold the lure and just stare at it with a distant look on his face until the Buizel appeared again and snapped him out of it. She found it odd, but didn't have much time to ponder the situation because now she was more determined than ever to catch that Buizel. And after much struggle, she did!

* * *

Later that evening when the excitement died down, Dawn could not forget about the strange, overprotective way Ash acted about his lure. When the group got to a Pokemon Center, Dawn let her curiosity get the better of her. She excused herself to the computer, telling Ash and Brock that she was going to e-mail her mother.

Instead, remembering what Brock said, she logged on to the Pokemon League Database. Sure enough, under Kanto gym leaders, Misty was listed at Cerulean City. Dawn clicked on her name and her profile showed up. This was the girl on Ash's lure. The resemblance was uncanny.

Researching a little bit more, Dawn learned that Misty specialized in water type Pokemon, which made sense if she was modeling fishing equipment after herself. Her team was comprised of mostly Kanto and Johto native Pokemon. Trainers agreed that her strongest Pokemon was Psyduck, something Dawn found odd considering she had a Gyarados on her team. Digging deeper, Dawn was able to watch video clips of some of Misty's battles. She noticed Misty's battling style looked a lot like Ash's, even down to the victory pose.

Then she saw another link. 'Want a battle? Contact Misty!' Dawn hovered over it for a brief minute thinking about clicking on it.

"Planning your next gym battle?" she heard Brock tease from behind her. Dawn laughed nervously. "Dawn, what are you doing?" Brock asked.

"Um," Dawn sweat dropped as she scrambled for words, "I was just. You see, Ash's lure." Brock raised an eyebrow at her. "I just wanted to see what was up with that thing. Why wouldn't he let me see it? He's never acted that way before. Normally there's a reason why he argues like that," she finally said.

"And you thought Misty's Pokemon League profile would answer that question for you?" Brock asked sarcastically.

"Well, if Ash wasn't going to tell me."

Brock sighed, "There is a reason why Ash was being so territorial over that lure. But that's something that you'll need to ask him about. He'll tell you, but approach it gently, you know how he can be." Then Brock looked closer at the computer screen. "And having a gym battle against Misty won't give you the answers you want either," he laughed.

* * *

After their talk, Dawn finally decided that she would ask Ash about earlier. But she kept in mind what Brock told her, approach it gently. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door before she walked in. Once again, Ash had the lure in his hand while he and Pikachu were both looking at it. When he saw Dawn come in, he quickly tried to hide it.

"So, Ash," Dawn began tentatively, "why don't you tell me about your unique fishing lure. It seems like it's important to you. Where did you get it?"

"I told you, I got it from my friend, Misty," Ash said vaguely.

It took everything in Dawn to remain patient with him. "You said that, but what makes it so special?"

"I got it when I was battling Brandon at the Battle Pyramid. I wasn't doing so hot so she gave it to me to help cheer me up. It's kind of been a good luck charm for both of us now."

"How so?" Dawn asked. "It didn't exactly help you catch that Buizel," Dawn laughed as Ash shot her a dirty look.

"She called this one the 'Super Misty Lure Version 4," He said as he picked it up again, "we entered this Seaking catching competition when we were traveling around Johto and she won using it. After she gave it to me, I won the Battle Pyramid and earned the Brave Symbol. I've had it with me for all of my gym battles here in Sinnoh too."

"So tell me about Misty," Dawn said anxiously anticipating the response.

Ash's eyes grew wide, "W-what about her?" He asked nervously.

"She traveled with you in Johto?" Dawn inquired carefully.

"She traveled with me through Johto, Kanto, and The Orange Islands. Actually, I met her on the very first day of my Pokemon journey. She's an amazing water Pokemon trainer. At first she annoyed me a lot, always telling me I didn't know what I was doing. But when I met her, I guess I really didn't. I don't think I would have made it through those first steps without her."

"It sounds like she is pretty important to you, huh?" Dawn pried.

"Well, yeah, she's one of my best friends. Sometimes I miss traveling with her."

"Do you ever think that, you know, maybe she's something more than that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ash responded quickly.

"Yeah, you do," Dawn smiled, "If she wasn't, then why wouldn't you let me see her lure earlier? And why are you still looking at it now when you're not fishing?"

Ash let out a deep breath. He looked away and then looked back at Dawn. She was still staring at him waiting for an answer. "It's ok if you do," she told him, "I wouldn't tell anyone. Especially not Brock."

Ash looked nervously at her as Pikachu excitedly seemed to answer for him.

"I'll take that as a 'probably,'" Dawn laughed.

"Hey! I never said that!" Ash yelled.

"You didn't have to," Dawn smiled, "actions speak louder than words. But Ash, who really benefits from hiding the truth? Get it out there before it's too late."

With that, she left him alone, awestruck.

* * *

When Dawn left Ash's room, she found Brock outside, clearly having listened to the whole conversation.

"So," Brock began, "Did he tell you everything you wanted to know?"

"I guess so," Dawn said, "So how long has he been in love with her?"

"As long as I can remember," Brock told her, "She's the same way, but neither of them has ever been mature enough to admit it."

"Well we should do something to get them together!" Dawn exclaimed.

"No, Dawn, we can't!"

"Why not? If two people really like each other, they should be together!"

"You can't force true love. It has to happen on its own," Brock told her.

"That's rich coming from you," Dawn scoffed.

Brock frowned, "The thing that makes Ash such a great Pokemon trainer is that he is always in tune with his Pokemon's feelings. But the same can't be said for his own. That's why you need to promise you won't get involved," Brock said sternly, "They'll figure it out soon enough, but you can't do that for them."

"I promise," Dawn sighed disappointedly.

* * *

Late that night, Dawn tiptoed back to the computer. She remembered what Brock said, but she couldn't stand by and do nothing. That wouldn't help either. She logged back on to Misty's gym leader profile. She saw that link once again, 'Want a battle? Contact Misty!' She clicked on it and typed a short message that she knew would make a difference, even if it was small.

"Someone in Sinnoh is thinking about you today..."

* * *

_I just want to keep you longer._


End file.
